"Graceful Anonymity"

In one of the more mystical parables, Jesus used as a metaphor for the “kingdom of heaven,” found in Matthew 25:14-30, He seems to be suggesting that the heavenly experience is directly related to the integrity of our commitment to ”invest the talents” given to us by the Lord of our Being.

You probably remember the story. The Lord was going on a trip and turned the operation of his estate over to his three servants. While he was gone, he charged them each with varying levels of responsibility depending on their “several abilities.” During his absence the servant to whom the Lord had given five talents invested them well, made a tidy profit, and when the Lord returned, He said, (Matthew 25:21) “Well done, thou good and faithful servant; thou has been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.” So far, so good.

Likewise, the second servant, who had received two talents from the Lord, put them to useful work adding to the estate, and when the Lord returned he said, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant; thou has been faithful over a few things, I well make thee ruler over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." What generosity!

Now comes the plot shift and the lesson. The third servant who had received one talent from the Lord got cold feet about taking a chance on losing what the Lord had given him and decided to bury his talent in the back yard rather than invest it in gainful activity.

When the Lord returned and discovered the third servant had not invested his talent and could only return what he’d been originally given, He was not a happy camper.

He landed all over the hapless servant declaring, “Thou wicked and slothful servant... thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the bankers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with interest. Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. For unto everyone that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.” (Matthew 25:26-29) Tough boss, this Universal principle, but, begging your pardon, no one ever said waking up was a rose garden.

The short story... If the flow of your life experience presents you with an opportunity to invest your creative juice in a righteous response to the unfolding moment . . . jump right in . . . get your talents wet and “enter thou into the joy of the Lord.”

Of course, the invitation to “invest” our talents, occurs on many planes in an infinite variety of ways. The way of things might be calling us out to invest our talent in the more mundane worlds of vocation, recreation, politics, education, or relationships. If that’s the case, go for it! The possibilities are endless. After all, this incarnation is a human one, so enjoy your curriculum.

All that being the case, though, something was compelling me to sit with the possibility that there just might be a spiritually-ordained category of human activity that would max out the grace of investing some talent in its unique opportunity to know the “joy of the Lord.” Then, it struck me.

One verse after Jesus concludes His teaching on the talents, He begins His discourse on the “goats and the sheep ” articulating exactly how our choices in the arena of service to humanity determines which of those Hebraic symbols we get to identify with and the consequences thereof. The condensed version goes . . . “You’re a sheep, mazel tov!” “You’re a goat, oy vey!“

You remember the teaching. It’s the one that ends with “Inasmuch as you’ve been of service to one of these, the least of these my brethren, you’ve done it unto me.” And that earns you the designation of a beloved sheep that “sitteth on the right hand of God.”

I’ve got a hunch that the bottom line of the Jesus ethic occurs in that mystical moment when heart meets heart in an act of lovingkindness that elevates both participants to the omega point of the Lord’s joy. And that’s the pay-off for any act of human kindness, be it great and grand or quiet and ever so intimate. In the heart-centered calculus of a Jesus, intention to love is prime; how many or who you love is irrelevant.

In the cosmic scheme of things, few of us are called upon to do engage our hearts in loving service the world will ever come to know of or pronounce “great.” Now and then in the chaotic dance of form and circumstance called life on earth, a Mother Theresa emerges, or a Martin Luther King, Jr., or a Gandhi, or a Jesus. And that niche is righteously theirs through the right of consciousness. But be not dismayed. Let’s remember what the good Mother from Calcutta encouraged us to remember when she counseled, “Very few of us will be called upon to do acts of service thought of as ‘great,’ but all of us can do small acts of service with great love.” Amen!

To the spiritually awakened it is readily apparent that every act of service dedicated to the alleviation of human suffering is an equally vital thread in the fabric of this shared mutuality we call our lives.

Remember, for every one of the “great” examples of charity and compassion that have found their way into the historical record, there have been countless millions done in graceful anonymity. . . quiet expressions of nurture and compassion invested in the sublime business of love . . . the kind of selfless service that inspires a joyful Lord to whisper in your ear, well done, my good and faithful servant, “enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. ”

So, let’s remember, every act of lovingkindness, regardless of its nature, is equally vital in the sacred geometry of God’s compassion. The teachings of Jesus tell us so.

Go back to the “reward” Jesus has the Lord bestowing for investing talents. Notice that it was identical regardless of the number of talents invested. The servant who invested five talents received exactly the same reward as the servant who invested two. And the servant who was given only one talent would have also enjoyed the grace of being “a ruler over many things,” and entrance “into the joy of the Lord” had he just invested his talent.

So let there be no deprecating “it was nothing” talk about how we respond to the opportunities for service life reveals to us. Each act of kindness is born of a sacred intention that adds to the cumulative grace available to our human family.

And on the note of cumulative grace, let your mind play with the question, “how far are we from the critical mass point of acts of lovingkindness? How far are we from that final gesture of graceful anonymity that’s all it takes to tip the scales of humanity in the direction of universal compassion as way of life?"

Might it be the next one? Could it be yours? The investment’s up to you. Why not make that your Valentine’s Day commitment for 2007? Then sit back and “Enjoy the grace! “

Thanks for Being My Valentine in so many ways on so many occasions...
Love,
~ Chad

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